Australian Unions have welcomed the Albanese Government’s announcement of a National AI Plan containing clear recognition of the need to put working people’s rights, wages, conditions, and jobs at the centre of the future roll-out of AI technology.

The National AI Plan clearly outlines the need for a strong worker voice through meaningful consultation and its commitment to ensuring that workers’ rights are fit for purpose to deal with the widespread misuse of AI currently underway in many sectors.

The National AI Plan will play an important role in ensuring that workers’ rights are not sacrificed in the pursuit of profits by multinational tech companies and big business. Unions welcome the National AI Plan’s strong commitments to protecting workplace rights and ensuring that any productivity benefits are fairly shared with workers.

Unions also support the National AI Plan’s emphasis on ensuring workers get training and skills support to take advantage of this new technology, including through the new AI Safety Institute that will help ensure AI and other technologies are fully compliant with Australian law and do not undermine fairness and our quality of life.

“Workers aren’t afraid of AI but are rightly sceptical about letting it go unchecked, especially when the technology has already been used by big business to undermine wages, conditions, and to wipe out jobs," said Australian Council of Trade Unions Assistant Secretary Joseph Mitchell.